


Letters From the Past

by mysteriousphoenix



Series: Newtina One-Shots [1]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Letters, Letters from the past, Married Couple, Older!newtina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:28:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28494606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysteriousphoenix/pseuds/mysteriousphoenix
Summary: Newtina Week Day 3: A journey through time. (Newt and Tina go to the past/future or someone from the past/future visits them.)Now at just over 100 years of age, Newt and Tina receive a surprise. A long-forgotten letter from Queenie, years after her death at the hands of Grindelwald.
Relationships: Tina Goldstein/Newt Scamander
Series: Newtina One-Shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137248
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24
Collections: Newtina Week 2020 #NewtinaWeek2020





	Letters From the Past

Newt climbed the ladder of his old, beaten case, a stack of yellowed correspondence in hand. He was nearly half-way through cleaning it out after decades of research. It was time to move on, pass the case onto the next generation. His son and grandson would be taking over his work soon, though Newt felt a bittersweet clench in his chest whenever he thought about it. He was proud that they had created something wonderful between them. He worked for over eighty years to make the world better for creatures, to educate other wizards about them. He had seen protective orders, ordinances, and treaties written in dozens of countries around the world to improve their living conditions. He was proud of the work he had done. His son had continued at his side and branched off into herbology and potion testing, trying to find alternative ingredients for common potions that would not harm creatures.

Now his grandson, Rolf, had expressed interest in taking on the family business. He was currently traveling, studying creatures, plants, and whatever he fancied at the moment. He called himself a Naturalist because he was fascinated by all things in nature and yearned for the discovery of new things. Newt saw a lot of himself in his grandson. It was when he wrote to let them know that he had met a wonderful girl who he would be bringing home to meet them soon, and that he thought she might be _the one_ , that Tina said it might be time to pass on the case. 

Newt knew she was right. There were few things that Tina wasn’t right about, come to think of it, but it was still difficult to think of his case being in the care of another, even if that person was Rolf. 

Newt pushed himself up and over the lip of his case, recalling how he used to run up the rickety ladder and out with ease. How fit and young he had been at thirty, though he never realized it. Time had been kind to Newt and Tina, but their bodies were not what they used to be. Years of hard work, injuries, and physical labor had seen to that.

“What do you have there?” Tina asked as she stirred the soup on the stove with her wand, her keen eyes trailing down the page of an old, stained cookbook. She glanced up at her husband as he emerged into their kitchen and placed the pile of parchment onto the table. The light from the window over their large farmhouse sink made her still-dark hair shine. Gray streaked through the soft locks that were currently pulled back away from her face into a plait that hung loosely over her shoulder. Newt still found that there were moments when she would still take his breath away, even seventy-seven years after their first meeting. He was a lucky man. 

“Letters mostly,” he replied, his fingers flipping through a few of the pages on the top of the file. “I haven’t seen them in years, most are from the thirties, I’d say.” He sat down with a small grunt and leaned on his elbow, sorting the papers into piles. Tina finished adding ingredients to their dinner and joined him at the table, picking up the top piece of parchment off the pile.

“Oh, Thes,” she said with a sad smile, tracing his name with her fingertip. Newt looked up and nodded, his eyes flashing back to the paper before him.

“I know. I think most of the people these letters are from are dead now. It’s…”

“It’s hard to get old,” Tina said, finishing his thought. Newt nodded, his eyes not leaving the parchment in front of him as he read. They had both lost so much over the years, so many people that they loved and cared about, but they had lived a good life together and he wouldn’t give up the family they had created to change anything in their past. It was still heartbreaking to think that neither of their siblings had lived to see their niece or nephew grow up, even though it had been more than half a century since they had been put to rest.

“Who is that one from?” Tina asked, pulling a faded, lavender envelope from the stack.

“Mr. Worme.” Newt flipped the letter over and read the few lines on the back before placing it gently onto a pile. “It was congratulating me on my seventh edition and updating me on its progress and publication.”

“Oh, goodness. That must have been in thirty-six? Thirty-seven??”

“Thirty-five,” Newt corrected her with a smile, pulling another envelope from the pile. “They all sort of run together. I can’t keep track of the dates myself.”

Tina flipped the unopened envelope in her hand over and she stilled, her eyes growing wide. Newt noticed her change of mood immediately.

“What is it, Love?” he asked. When she didn’t answer, he pulled the envelope from her fingers gently. He flipped it over to see the writing on the front. “Is that…?”

“Queenie.” Tina’s eyes were wide and tears were brimming in their chocolatey depths. Her sister had been a tough topic for years. Tina, though she knew that Queenie had made her own tough choices all those years ago, still carried guilt with her. She still blamed herself for driving her little sister into Grindelwald’s circle, and later, for not being able to save her when she tried to run from it. Her death stung, far more than watching Theseus fall in the final battle, far more than the peaceful death that Jacob had seen at the age of 90 a few years back. Hers had been the hardest by far. 

Taking the envelope back, she stared at it for a few more moments. “It’s not opened...and it’s addressed to you.”

Newt shook his head, confused. “I don’t remember that one at all. I would have remembered if she had tried to contact me, it would have stood out. It happened so infrequently that…” Newt stood and walked around the table, lowering himself into the chair at his wife’s side. “Do you want to open it?”

“I- I think so,” Tina mumbled, her gathered tears breaking through her lashes and cascading down her cheek, “I...no. You open it. It’s addressed to you.”

“It’s for you, though. You know it is.” Newt’s hand rested lightly on her shoulder, his fingers passing lightly over her upper back in a practiced motion. “Do you want me to read it to you?”

With a sniff and a nod, Tina passed the letter over to Newt who opened the wax seal carefully and pulled out a letter on matching stationary. He watched as Tina pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed at her eyes before leaning on the table and watching out the window, listening. Unfolding the letter, Newt looked at the familiar handwriting with a pang of sadness and something akin to a long-held frustration and anger. He cleared his throat and began to read.

_February 12, 1934_

_My dear Newt,_

_I know that you will be surprised to hear from me. You may not want to, and if that is the case, then I understand. I have done things that make me ashamed beyond explanation, and for that, I am truly sorry. I left Teenie, and I can never go back to the way things were. I did that, and I have regretted it ever since. I thought that what I was doing was right, but over time I have realized that Gellert was not truthful or forthcoming with his goals. Thank you for being the family for her that I could not be. Thank you for loving her the way that she deserves to be loved._

_I heard the news of your first child in the Daily Prophet. Congratulations. I am so happy and proud of you both. You will be wonderful parents, she is a lucky little girl. I wish that I was able to meet her, but I fear that it might never happen now. Please give her a kiss from her Auntie Queenie with love._

_I am leaving Nurmengard tomorrow. I know that there are several Aurors on watch and correspondence is being checked. I do not know if Tina’s correspondence is among those, they keep any information about Tina a secret from me, even now. I didn’t want to take a chance and have this letter be intercepted. I figured sending a letter by no-maj post to you would be safest._

_Please, tell her how sorry I am. I made these choices and I take full blame for my actions. She has been my everything since we were children, and she will continue to be my everything until the day I die. Tell her that I love her. She deserves nothing but the best in life, and that is all I hope for her. Tell her that I would be by her side right now if I could do this all over again. I’m not sure if I will make it to England or not, that is where I am trying to go. If I do, I will be in contact again. If I do not, please forgive me for what I have done. Not only here with Gellert, but to you both. Especially to Tina. I know my sister, and I know that she has probably tried to take responsibility for what happened in Paris. Don’t let her live her life thinking that she was responsible, Newt. She wasn’t. It was my choice that led me here._

_I hope that I can tell her these things in person soon. Please be watching for an owl from me in the coming weeks. If the worst should happen, I am sure that you will hear through the Ministry. I am running, not because I am scared, but because I know that Gellert Grindelwald is a manipulator and a liar. I cannot stand with him any longer. I know that I will face prison time when I arrive in England, but I will do what I can to help the resistance working against him._

_I am sending love to you both, and I hope that you will allow me to see you soon. I will be in touch. Please also share these sentiments with Jacob as I have no address for him. I don’t know where he is and I will probably never see him again, but I only wish him happiness. I hope he can forgive me someday._

_All my love and devotion, always,_

_Queenie_

A pause followed Newt’s reading, interrupted only by Tina’s choked sobs as she clutched her handkerchief to her face. Newt stared at the letter in his hand, the other resting along Tina’s back and trying to soothe her with a light touch. He realized that he was also crying as tears began to blur the words before him. Clearing his throat, he removed his glasses and used his shirt sleeve to dab at his eyes.

Tina sighed and looked up at Newt, her eyes were red and tears still streamed down her face. He set the letter on the table and thumbed the tears away from her slightly-wrinkled face, cupping her cheek lightly as he had done thousands of times before. She leaned into the touch and then her face buried itself into his shoulder as her arms wrapped around his waist. She seemed to be calming now as she took deep, steadying breaths. 

“She never made it,” Tina mumbled into Newt’s shoulder, her despair heavy in her voice. Newt closed his eyes and held her close.

“I know.” He shook his head as he laid the letter down and wrapped his other arm around Tina, surrounding her. She continued to cry into his shoulder, her sobs and hiccuping breaths growing farther apart as she calmed. She took deep breaths and Newt played with the wisps of hair that had escaped their confines at the nape of her neck. “I can’t believe you found that letter. I never knew it existed.”

“I know,” she responded, pulling away from him and wiping the remnants of her tears away with her handkerchief. “She sent it by muggle post, it probably got mixed in with the fan mail. The purple envelope saw to that.” They both laughed, softly and awkwardly in the solemn moment, as they thought back on the piles of fan mail that had arrived over the years from witches of all ages and walks of life. Thankfully, it had tapered off after a couple of decades and they were left in peace with only scholarly letters of interest scattered here and there.

“Thank Merlin I never get rid of anything…” Tina snorted and shook her head, dabbing at her eyes once more. She inhaled deeply through her nose and then released her breath through her mouth, her face downcast as she twisted the cloth in her hands absently. “How are you, Love?” Newt asked softly.

“I’m… okay,” Tina whispered without looking up. “Surprised, sad, angry… happy to hear from her… I don’t really know _how_ I feel right now.”

Newt nodded, picking the letter up and looking at it again. “That’s completely understandable. It’s a lot to take in after so long. I wish we had seen it sooner.” 

“I wish Jacob had seen it,” Tina continued, and Newt hummed in agreement.

“He forgave her long ago.”

“I know he did. He was so… good.” Tina said with a wistful smile, her eyes closing at the wash of memories. “He deserved closure too, though.”

“Do you feel that this was closure, then?” Newt asked carefully.

“I- kind of? Maybe a little.” Tina said, her voice hoarse after her burst of emotions. “I’m glad to have it. I’m… I’m glad that she ran for the right reasons. I wish, so much, that she would have made it to England. She could have been…”

“She _would_ have been a part of our family again, even if she would have been in prison. She always was in a way.” Newt watched as Tina’s dark eyes rose to meet his, they were bloodshot, and tears still threatened to fall, but they were still as bright as they had ever been. “I always considered her family, even if she was never here.”

“I know you did. You never had to, but you did.” Tina leaned forward and hugged Newt properly. “Thank you.”

“I love you,” he whispered into her hair, and he felt her arms tighten around his back.

“I love you, too.”

Tina pulled away and used the heel of her hand to brush an escaped tear from her cheek. She lightly, gently grabbed the letter and envelope from the table. Folding the letter carefully, she slid it back into its home and tucked it carefully into the pocket of her long, woolen sweater.

“I’m going for a walk,” Tina said, standing slowly from her chair. “I need a bit of fresh air, I think.”

“Right,” Newt agreed. “Do you want company?” He knew the answer already, but he wanted to make sure she was okay after the shock she had just received.

“I don’t think so,” she said, a small forced smile crossing her face, “I think I need a bit of time alone to think.” Newt nodded and Tina bent down to place a light kiss on the top of his head. “Keep an eye on dinner for me?” she asked as she made her way to the door.

“Of course, I’ll take care of things here.” With a nod, Tina slipped through the door and began to walk up the path. Through the window, Newt watched as she paused to pull the lavender letter from her sweater pocket and pull the letter out. She continued walking toward the pasture, her eyes trained on her sister’s final words. He smiled at the sight, thankful that Queenie had been able to pay her sister one final visit with her words from the past, even if it had come years later than intended. 

_Thanks for the visit, Queenie,_ he thought, hoping that wherever she was now, that she was finally at peace.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr! [@themysteriousphoenix ](https://themysteriousphoenix.tumblr.com/)


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